“When I was growing up in the Fink household, once the sun began to set, it was time to party. The conversation and laughter (and beer) would begin to flow freely as my mother prepared elaborate home cooked southern meals.”
“We would gravitate and orbit her like the sun, my father and sisters and I. So naturally, the kitchen was where we kept the record player and hifi. The backdrop to these nightly parties was always music. Loud music. Bluegrass, old country, rock and roll. The later it got, the louder it got, as records were passed from hand to hand. These records—studied, revered, and sometimes even hated—were the soundtrack to my childhood.
When I was eleven I got my own portable record player and three records—Canned Heat’s Boogie With Canned Heat, Kiss’s Destroyer, and Jimmy Buffett’s Living and Dying in 3/4 Time. I don’t know if my parents curated these records or they were just what they picked up at the thrift store, but it didn’t matter. They were MINE and I listened to them over and over until they were literally warped.
They were my prize possessions—they were something real that I could hold in my little hands, yet became so much more as the music played over and over. They were my new family members—Canned Heat, Kiss, and Jimmy. They spoke to me when the needle dropped, and like family, I didn’t love everything they said, hell, I didn’t even choose them, but I still loved them just the same.
I’m not sure that anyone has had that experience with my records, but it is important to me to make sure they are released on vinyl just in case. Because there are some things that an MP3 can never be, and one of those is family.”
—Orenda Fink
Orenda Fink’s Blue Dream lands on store shelves—on vinyl—August 5th via Saddle Creek records. Pre-order Blue Dream right here in your format of choice.
